Strawberry Spinach Salad

So this salad is a re-post from well over a year ago, but it is so good that it's worth posting again! I recently made it for a party we went to and I can never get enough of it. There was tons of food at the party and I seriously only ate a huge plate of this salad. Love it!

Ingredients:
1 lb. spinach (I added some red and green leaf too)
1 qt. strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup almonds
1 Tbsp. sugar

Dressing: whisk together the following
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup or little less, sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. minced green onion
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

Directions:
1. Toast almonds in sugar in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Place on wax paper to cool.
2. Combine spinach, strawberries, and candied almonds.
3. Toss dressing over salad just prior to serving, otherwise it will be soggy.

Southwest Summer Pork Chops

This recipe is courtesy of Tried and True Cooking with Heidi, thanks Heidi! I almost always bread pork chops because it keeps them so tender and moist, but I found this recipe while browsing the blog world the other day and they looked so good. These had great flavor and everyone in the family enjoyed them. I bought thin cut pork chops so they cooked really quickly on the bbq- great summer time meal so you don't have to heat up the house! Give them a try and let me know what you think-

Ingredients:

4 tsp dried minced onion
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
6 bone-in pork loin chops (I used boneless)
1/4 cup barbecue sauce (I used KC Masterpiece)
2 TBSP lemon juice

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients; rub over pork chops. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine barbecue sauce and lemon juice; add the pork chops; Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Discard marinade. If grilling the pork chops, coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Grill chops, covered, over medium heat or broil 6 in. from the heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°

Wicker Patio Chairs...Before and After

I have been searching Craigslist, Goodwill, and Garage Sales for the last couple months in hopes of finding the the perfect wicker chairs for my front porch. Well, all that time searching finally paid off! I found a man on Craigslist selling these beauties for $15 each!!! That is a major steal if you've ever looked into buying wicker before. Of course I couldn't leave them as is either- after a few coats of black spray paint they were just what I was visioning in my head.

BEFORE

AFTER

PERFECT! JUST WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!

thanks craigslist!